Hair Product Review 6: Manic Panic Hair Dye
Note: I will do a product review of their bleaching kit in the near future. Each one deserves it's own spot. Also warning; this one has a lot of pictures of my face.
Name of Product: Manic Panic Hair Dye
Where Purchased: Sally's Beauty Supply
Product Description: A collection of semi-permanent, cream hair dyes. Many vibrant colors.
Pros:
Inexpensive (around $9 for a jar)
One jar goes a long way if your hair isn't too long
Many colors
Bright
Can wash out of un-bleached hair
Safe for hair
Gluten free
Perfect for those near impossible anime colors
Cons:
STAINS EVERYTHING
You will need more than one jar for red hair
Only last long/works best if you're willing to bleach your hair
Fading can be ugly, especially for blues
Reds will turn pink fast
First off, let me say that I have not tried Manic Panic's amplified formula. I've heard great things, but they don't sell it near here. I would buy it online, but I'd rather save my money and get a color that I rarely see in the normal batch. So for now, this review will be about their Cream Formula.
I really like the scent of the product. It isn't too strong and it's kinda pleasant. It's sorta easy to apply but gloves and a dye brush are a must (though I just use my glove covered fingers). It's made from plant materials so it soaks through your hair, instead of just sitting on top of it like other gluten made dyes do. Every time I used it, it made my hair feel softer. Unlike other dyes I've used which made it feel rough.
I first bought this product near the fall of 2010. It was my first year out of high school and the first thing I really wanted to do was dye my hair a color that my old school would never allow. I had a job that did not care what color your hair was (call center) and I went to a hair salon to get my brown hair bleached (wanted to do it safely the first time).
The woman who did it recommended Manic Panic and told me where in town I could get it. I went to Sally's the next day and bought a jar of midnight blue
My hair was fairly short at the time so it barely took a quarter of a jar for me. I messed up the first time I did it, because I read the instructions wrong. That was my bad. But I redid it the next time when I wasn't being stupid. The instructions are actually very easy to read.
I was lucky to have some petroleum jelly at my house, because without it my ears and face would have been dripped blue. Seriously, everyone. This stuff STAINS your skin.
I left it in for about an hour under a shower cap. I applied a bit of heat from my hair dryer (it recommends that for brighter colors) every so often. It took a long time to rinse out all the excess color. I used cold water and it ran blue for a good five minutes. Luckily the water was constantly moving so it did not stain our tub.
I let it air dry and it looked great. The color was a very dark blue, kinda.. greyish tone though. But, I Liked it.
It did fade over time, but that was because I take warm showers every day. I tried not to wash my hair too often but it gets greasy easily.
This is after a redye and about a weeks worth of washes.
Very faded. About as faded as I ever let it get before I dyed it or bleached it again.
I've died my hair Vampire Red with Manic Panic as well. However it came out with a big pink tint to it. I wasn't too fond of that.
But that may have been because my hair was platinum blonde when I redyed it.
Sorry for the spam of my ugly face. But this is to show the differences in the color, compared to how bleached my hair was.
The more your hair is bleached, the more hollow the hair is. Thus, the more dye it can absorb.
I do recommend this product to anyone who likes to dye their hair funky colors or who wants to do it for a cosplay. Just make sure to take care of your hair (hair mask, leave in conditioner, special shampoos/conditioners, etc) so it doesn't become brittle and/or fall out.
Also to those that want their hair to be WHITE; they make a toner. Snow White toner is the name (I think). You need to bleach your hair lemon yellow (go to a salon if you're inexperienced with bleaching) and you'd apply that like you'd do the dye. If you go to their website, you'll see someone's success story with that. I believe he did it for a Dante (Devil May Cry) cosplay and it looks FANTASTIC. They also have other pictures and stories of customers using their dyes, as well as a place to buy them all!
Have others used this product and/or company? What was your experience with it? Good? Bad? So-so? Reblog or comment and let everyone know!
